Canon Eos 1ds Digital Camera

The Right Digital Camera For Nature Photos

With all the digital camera choices available on the market now, which one is best for the nature photographer? To be honest, there really isn't a correct answer. Just like film cameras, digital cameras come in all sorts of flavors, and your personal tastes will dictate a lot of the choices you'll make. There are professionals out there who will only work with high-end professional digital cameras, such as the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II with its speed of four frames per second (4 fps) and its full-frame 16.7-megapixel sensor, while others are happy with compact digital "point and shoot" cameras.

Other nature photographers, like me, use a number of different digital cameras. I carry into the field my digital SLR and accompanying lenses, plus a compact digital camera. Actually, I like the idea of carrying a compact digital camera everywhere I go. Additionally, a small "pocketable" compact, such as the Nikon Coolpix 7900 digital camera, gives you the ability to shoot some great macro shots, which is something I do often while I'm out shooting other nature scenes. I carry this camera wherever I go, shooting nature or just as an everyday walking-around camera.

The fastest growing segment of digital cameras is the now-affordable digital SLR. In the past few years, Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Pentax, Olympus, and Sigma have all come out with their versions of the digital SLR. Only a few years ago, purchasing a digital SLR wasn't within the reach of most hobbyists or advanced amateurs. The digital SLRs on the market were only aimed at the professional, with price tags matching those of gas-guzzling SUVs. Now for the same price as the top prosumer models, you can obtain a digital SLR with a lens.